Cover construction

ABSTRACT

Construction for roof of greenhouse consisting of triangular glazed panels are hinged together and removable to provide a sawtooth construction when assembled and placed over a rectangular base.

This is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No.669,115, (now abandoned), filed on Nov. 7, 1984 and Ser. No. 861,458filed on May 9, 1986 U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,025.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the construction and operation of greenhouses, swimming pools, andsimilar structures, it is often necessary at times to provide acompletely glazed cover or roof for maximum solar heating and maximumgrowing conditions (in the case of the greenhouse). At other times,however, it is often desirable to open the interior of the greenhouse toeither direct sunlight or natural weather conditions. In the past, roofand cover frames have been provided with glazed vents which move awayfrom the frames to allow the flow of air through the structure whendesirable. In other words, the structure has been provided with a rigid,non-removable framework to which the vents were hingedly attached.Although these structures have been provided with sawtooth constructionand served their purpose after a fashion, there was a considerableproblem in some climates with snow loading. Furthermore, they did notreadily drain from the valleys between the peaks. In addition, they weresubject to damage, while the replacement of damaged or broken panels wasa difficult and expensive matter. Furthermore, the structures have beenbasically expensive in their initial construction. These and otherdifficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviatedin a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide acover construction which permits multi-functional operation.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a construction fora greenhouse roof or the like in which glazed panels can be hinged toopen position or can be entirely removed.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of cover orroof construction which is capable of extensive snow loading withoutdamage and which drains very well.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a roofstructure which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive tomanufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service witha minimum of maintenance.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of aconstruction for a greenhouse roof and the like, wherein the glazed areais maximized and the benefits of solar heating are obtained in additionto heating by conventional heating sources.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a clear-span coverconstruction which is light in weight and which provides a maximumlength of bridging without the use of intervening permanent beams andsupports.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a greenhouse inwhich, because of the rectangular side wall construction and therectangular base plan, the side walls can be as high as needed to makethe structure accessible to motorized equipment or to adapt it to anyintended use.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the invention consists of a cover construction having arectangular base consisting of vertical front, rear, right side, andleft side walls that are permanently fastened together. The walls havestraight top edges lying in a common horizontal plane. End panels ofisoceles triangular form are provided which extend upwardly in the planeof the front and rear walls. At least two end panels are associated withthe upper edge of the front wall and one end panel is associated withthe upper edge of the rear wall. The peak of the end panel on the rearwall lies in a vertical plane parallel to the side walls and is locatedmid-way between the peaks of the end panels on the front walls. Glazedpanels of triangular form are provided extending from the end panels ofthe front walls to the end panels of the rear wall. The sole support foreach glazed panel consists of the end panels and other adjacent glazedpanels.

More specifically, each glazed panel consists of a rigid open framehaving a sheet of light-transmitting material overlying each side, thusproviding spaced parallel sheets for passive solar heating and heatingefficiency. The glazed panels are joined to form a self-supportingstructure. The end panels are hingedly connected to their base walls andare detachably connected to the adjacent glazed panels, so that the endpanels can be moved outwardly to permit venting. Each glazed panel is inthe form of a right triangle with a short side, a long side, and ahypotenuse, the short side lying along, joined to, and of the samelength as the side of one of the end panels. The hypotenuse of eachglazed panel is removably fastened to the hypotenuse of an immediatelyadjacent glazed panel to form a ridge line. The long side of each glazedpanel is hingedly attached to the long side of an immediately adjacentglazed panel to form a valley line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood byreference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated b accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cover construction incorporating theprinciples of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the cover construction,

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the construction,

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the construction,

FIG. 5 is a left side elevational view of the construction,

FIG. 6 is a right side elevational view of the construction,

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a glazed panel forming part of theconstruction,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the panel taken on the line VIII--VIII ofFIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view of a portion of theconstruction,

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the construction taken on the line X--Xof FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a portion of the construction shown inFIG. 9,

FIG. 12 is an additional enlarged portion of the construction shown inFIG. 9,

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of another portion of the construction shownin FIG. 9,

FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view of a modification of the inventiontaken on the line XIV--XIV of FIG. 16,

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a portion of the invention shown in FIG.14,

FIG. 16 is an elevational view of the modification of the inventionshowing the roof structure in operative mode, and

FIG. 17 is a front elevational view of the modification of theinvention, showing the roof structure in stored mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIGS. 1 thru 6, which show the general features ofthe invention, the cover construction, indicated generally by thereference numeral 10, is shown as having a rectangular base 11 thatconsists of a vertical front wall 12, a rear wall 13, a right side wall14, and a left side wall 15. These walls are permanently fastenedtogether and to a foundation in the usual way and have straight topedges lying in a common horizontal plane. These top edges are top edge16 in the case of the front wall 12, a top edge 17 on the rear wall 13,a top edge 18 on the right side wall 15, and a top edge 19 on the leftside wall 14. End panels 21, 22, and 23 extend upwardly from the upperedge 16 of the front wall 12, these panels being of isoceles triangularform. As is most evident in FIG. 4, the upper edge 17 of the rear wall13 is provided with similar isoceles triangular panels 24 and 25 whichare centrally located and with spaced half panels 47 and 48 at the ends.There is at the upper edge 17 of the rear wall 13, an end panel 25associated with the two end panels 21 and 22 on the upper edge 16 of thefront wall 12. A peak H-5 of the end panel 25 at the rear wall lies in avertical plane which is parallel to the side walls 15 and 14 and liesmidway between the peaks H-1 and H-2 of the end panels 21 and 22,respectively. Glazed panels 26 through 38 join the end panels 21, 22,and 23 of the front wall to the end panels 24, 25, 47 and 48 of the rearwall. The sole support for each glazed panel consists of the end panelswith which it is associated and the other immediately adjacent glazedpanels.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, each glazed panel is similar to the panel 31shown in the drawing and is in the form of a right triangle with a shortside 39, a long side 41, and a hypotenuse 42. Each panel has the shortside 39 lying along, joined to, and of the same length as the side ofone of the end panels with which is associated. For instance, in thecase of the glazed panel 31, it can be seen that its short side 39 restson the inclined edge of the end panel 22, as is evident in FIG. 1. Thehypotenuse 42 of the glazed panel 31 is removably fastened to thehypotenuse of the immediately adjacent glazed panel 32, as is evident inFIG. 1, along a ridge line extending from peak H-2 to H-5. This ridgeline is indicated by the reference numeral 43 in FIG. 9. The long side41 of the glazed panel 31 is hingedly attached to the corresponding longside of the immediately adjacent glazed panel 29 to form the valley line44. Each of the glazed panels is similarly joined along its long side toanother panel to form a valley line.

As is evident in FIG. 5, a triangular side panel 45 is mounted at theupper edge 18 of the right side wall 15 of the base, while in FIG. 6, itcan be seen that a similar triangular side panel 46 is mounted at theupper edge 19 of the right side panel 14. Each of these side panels 45and 46 are a right triangle having a long side joined to and coextensivewith the upper edge 18 and 19, respectively, of the side wall on whichit is mounted, while its hypotenuse is hingedly attached to anintermediate adjacent glazed panel. In the case of the side panel 45, itis hingedly attached to the hypotenuse of the glazed panel 26, while inthe case of the side panel 46 its hypotenuse is attached hingedly to theglazed panel 38.

As is evident in FIGS. 5 and 6, each triangular side panel 45 and 46 hasa short side that extends upwardly from the junction of the side wall ofthe base with the rear wall. The short side of the side panel 45, forinstance, is attached to the special half panel 47 (see FIG. 4), whilethe side panel 46 is attached to the special half panel 48. Each of thehalf panels 47 and 48 are a special end panel which consists of half ofthe regular isoceles triangular form.

It should be noted also that each of the special end panels 47 and 48are in the form of one-half of the above-described isoceles triangularend panels and has a hypotenuse which lies along and is attached to theshort side of a glazed panel. In the case of the end panel 47, this isthe glazed panel 37, while in the case of the end panel 48, it is theglazed panel 27.

Referring again to FIGS. 7 and 8, it can be seen that the glazed panel31 (which is exactly similar to the other glaze panels) consists of arigid open frame 49, having a sheet 51 and 52 of clear plastic lyingeach side, thus providing spaced, parallel sheets for passive solarheating. In the preferred embodiment, the sheet is formed of a polymerplastic, such as polyethylene.

Referring to FIGS. 10, 11, 12, and 13, it can be seen that the glazedpanels are joined to form a self-supporting structure. The end panelsare hingedly-connected to their base walls and detachably connected tothe adjacent glazed panels, so that the end panels can be movedoutwardly to provide venting. The glazed panels are joined to each otherand to the end panels by use of flexible weather-resistant straps.

For the purpose of description, the upper apices of the end panels areindicated on the drawings by reference numerals H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4, H-5,H-6, and H-7. Similarly, the low points between the end panels areindicated on the drawings by reference numerals L-1, L-2, L-3, L-3, L-4,L-5, L-6, and L-7. Each peak is joined by a ridge line to two otherpeaks; for instance, peak H-2 is joined by a ridge line 43 to the rearwall peaks H-5 and H-6. Each high point is also joined by a valley line44 to a low point or junction between the end walls at the oppositewall. For instance, the high point H-1 of the end panel 21 is joined bya valley line to L-5. A ridge line 44 is the one which joins the peakH-5 to the junction L-2. The ridge line 43 is the ridge line which joinsthe peak H-2 of the end panel 22 to the high point H-5 of the rear panel25.

FIG. 10 shows the manner in which the glazed panel 34 is attached to abeam of the end panel 22 by a flexible strap 53 which can bedisconnected by a bolt and wing nut. Similarly, FIGS. 11 and 13 show theuse of a polytetraethylene strap 54 joining the glazed panels 34 and 35,while allowing hinging between them. FIG. 12 shows the manner in whichthe ridge lines are constructed with a protective polytetraethyleneelement 55.

Generally speaking, the glazed panels are intended to be hinged aboutthe valley lines, (similar to the valley line 44) to lie against theadjacent glazed panel with which it shares a common valley line. Forinstance, the glazed panels 34 and 35 (see FIG. 2) are hinged togetherin the manner shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, so that the panel 34 may berotated or folded over to lie against the panel 35. This means that theridge line connections are such that they are easily disconnected (asindicated in FIG. 12), so that the folding is possible. At the sametime, in order to remove all of the glazed panels, it is only necessaryto disconnect them along the ridge lines to allow the entire removal ofthe glazed panel in pairs. Of course, it is also necessary to disconnectthe panels where they are attached to the end panels, the nature of theconnection being shown in FIG. 10. The use of the Teflon strips 54 and55 serves to seal the joint between the glazed panels.

The operation and advantages of the present invention will now bereadily understood in view of the above description. In the condition ofthe greenhouse construction shown in FIG. 1, the glazed panels are allin place and the construction operates as a conventional greenhouse. Theplants growing on the inside are subjected to that degree of heat andlight which is necessary for their growth. In the case of rain, thedrainage takes place down the valley lines 44 to both ends of thebuilding, so that neither end carries an extraordinary amount of fluid.The fact that each valley line 44 slopes from a high point to a valley(from a point H-6 which is high to L-3 which is low) means that the flowof fluid takes place adequately. At the same time, the matching of theglazed panels means that all panels are in a slope leading downwardlyinto a valley line. When snow-loading takes place, the panels areinclined equally between the front wall 12 and the rear wall 13, so thatthe loading is evenly distributed. Because of the fact that the panelsare made of a smooth sheet material, there is a tendency in any case forany snow or ice to slide downwardly into a valley. The reflection ofsunlight from the inclined surfaces surrounding each valley line willencourage the melting of the snow as rapidly as possible. Furthermore,heat contained within the greenhouse during winter periods (due to thesolar heating or other heating sources) will also encourage the meltingof snow.

At certain times of the year it is desirable to reduce the heating to acertain extent and to allow air to flow freely. There are various waysin which this can be done. As pointed out above, the end panels 21, 22,23, 24, 25, 47, and 48 can be moved outwardly by hinging action aboutthe upper edges of the front and rear walls, thus opening the ends ofthe roof to allow free flow of air. At that time, the heating action ofthe glazed panels still take place. At other times, it is even desirableto allow rain as well as sunlight and air to enter directly through thetop of the roof of the greenhouse. In that case, the glazed panels canbe swung outwardly about their valley lines. In every case, is theso-called "long side" similar to the long side 41 of the panel 31, shownin FIG. 7, that is disconnected. In the event that the entire opening isdesired, pairs of panels joined by their valley line hinge can beremoved from the building to open the entire upper end through to thesky.

It can be seen, then, that the present invention involves a relativelyinexpensive construction, because there are no cross beams or supportingroof structures to be supplied. The lower base portion is relativelyinexpensive to begin with and all of the roof elements consist oflight-weight, easily-installed panels which are of substantially thesame construction. In other words, aside from the end panels and some ofthe special panels, most of the roof is made up of exactly similartriangular glazed panels similar to the panel 31 of FIG. 7. Since doubleglazing is provided, the use of the greenhouse for passive solar heatingis readily accomplished. The use of Teflon tape along the valley linesand the ridge lines promotes a minimum of leakage of water into thebuilding. The hinging and fastening construction shown in the drawings,particularly in FIGS. 10 thru 13, is relatively simple and inexpensiveand not easily damaged. Furthermore, if one of the panels develops atear or a breakage, it is a simple matter to remove it withoutdisturbing the rest of the roof and to carry it down to the ground forrepair. The roof structure is mounted on a simple rectangular basebuilding which not only makes it cheaper, but also assures that it havea better appearance. The construction provides a clear span across theroof, so that there are no problems of shadow from cross beams at anytime during the operation of the roof. In other words, a maximum area isavailable for light and heat transmission. Furthermore, the constructiongives a maximum light transmission with a maximum of strength,particularly under snow loading. For comparison, it is common to providegreenhouse roofs which permit 25 lbs. of snow load per square foot, butthe present construction has been tested to receive 55 lbs. per squarefoot safely. The desirable appearance is evident, of course, in FIGS. 1and 2.

Referring next to FIGS. 14 thru 17, which show the general features of amodified form of the invention, the roof construction, indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 110, is shown as having a rectangularbase 111 that consists of a vertical front wall 112, a rear wall 113, aright side wall 114, and a left side wall 115. These walls arepermanently fastened together and to a foundation in the usual way andhave straight top edges lying in a common horizontal plane. They mayform a building, such as a greenhouse, or recreational structure, suchas swimming pool. The top edges are top edge 116 in the case of thefront wall 112, a top edge 117 on the rear wall 113, a top edge 118 onthe right side wall 115, and a top edge 119 on the left side wall 114.End panels 121, 122, and 123 extend upwardly from the upper edge 116 ofthe front wall 112, these panels being of isoceles triangular form. Inthe same manner as shown and described in the previously describedversion of the invention, the upper edge 117 of the rear wall 113 isprovided with similar isoceles triangular panels which are centrallylocated and with spaced half panels at the ends. There is at the upperedge 117 of the rear wall 113, an end panel associated with the two endpanels 121 and 122 on the upper edge 16 of the front wall 12. A peak ofthis end panel at the rear wall lies in a vertical plane which isparallel to the side walls 115 and 114 and lies midway between the peaksH-1 and H-2 of the end panels 121 and 122, respectively. Glazed panels126 through 138 join the end panels 121, 122, and 123 of the front wallto the end panels of the rear wall. The sole support for each glazedpanel consists of the end panel with which it is associated and theother immediately-adjacent glazed panels.

Each glazed panel is similar to the panel 31 shown in the drawing inFIGS. 7 and 8 and is in the form of a right triangle with a short side,a long side, and a hypotenuse. Each panel has the short side lyingalong, joined to, and of the same length as the side of one of the endpanels with which is associated.

A triangular side panel 145 is mounted at the upper edge 118 of theright side wall 115 of the base, a similar triangular side panel 146 ismounted at the upper edge 119 of the right side panel 114. Each of theseside panels are a right triangle having a long side joined to andcoextensive with the upper edge 118 and 119, respectively, of the sidewall on which it is mounted, while its hypotenuse is hingedly attachedto an intermediate adjacent glazed panel.

Each triangular side panel 145 and 146 has a short side that extendsupwardly from the junction of the side wall of the base with the rearwall. The short side is attached to the special half panel. Each of thehalf panels are a special end panel which consists of half of theregular isoceles triangular form.

It should be noted also that each of the special end panels are in theform of one-half of the above described isoceles triangular end panelsand has a hypotenuse which lies along and is attached to the short sideof a glazed panel.

Each of the glazed panels consists of a rigid open frame, having a sheetof clear plastic lying each side, thus providing spaced, parallel sheetsfor passive solar heating. In the preferred embodiment, the sheet isformed of a polymer plastic, such as polyethylene.

The glazed panels are joined to form a self-supporting structure. Theend panels are hingedly-connected to their base walls and detachablyconnected to the adjacent glazed panels, so that the end panels can bemoved outwardly to provide venting. The glazed panels are joined to eachother and to the end panels by use of flexible weather-resistant straps.

Generally speaking, the glazed panels are intended to be hinged aboutthe valley lines, to lie against the adjacent glazed panel with which itshares a common valley line. This means that the ridge line connectionsare such that they are easily disconnected, so that the folding ispossible. At the same time, in order to remove all of the glazed panels,it is only necessary to disconnect them along the ridge lines to allowthe entire removal of the glazed panel in pairs. Of course, it is alsonecessary to disconnect the panels where they are attached to the endpanels.

Referring to FIG. 15, each end of each panel, such as panel 122, isprovided with a wheel 124 which rides in a channel construction isprovided at the upper edge 117 of the rear wall 113. A similar wheel andchannel construction is provided at the upper edge 119 of the front wall112. This allows the panels to be moved to expose portions of thegreenhouse, swimming pool, etc. For instance, the panels can be moved toan extension 120 projecting from the upper edge 119 of the right sidewall 114, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. To facilitate the movement of thepanels, a cable 140 extends from a winch 141 at the upper edge 118 ofthe left side wall 115 to a winch 142 of the outer end of the extension120.

As is evident in FIG. 17, the entire group of panels can be moved to andstored on the extension 120, thus opening the greenhouse or swimmingpool to the sky.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent is:
 1. Cover construction, for useon a rectangular base consisting of vertical front rear, right side, andleft side walls permanently fastened together, the walls having straighttop edges lying in a common horizonital plane, comprising:(a) end panelsof isosceles triangular form extending upwardly and in the plane of thefront and rear walls, there being two end panels associated with theupper edge of the front wall and one end panel associated with the upperedge of the rear wall, the peak of the end panel on the rear wall lyingin a vertical plane parallel to the side walls and lying midway betweenthe peaks of the end panels on the front walls, and (b) glazed panels oftriangular form extending from the end panels of the front wall to theend panel of the rear wall, the sole support for each glazed panel beingend panels and other adjacent glazed panels, each panel spanning the topedges of opposite parallel walls and having a wheel at each end ridingin guide channels fastened on the said top edge.
 2. Cover constructionas recited in claim 1, wherein a cable is carried in each guide channeland is fastened to the panels for movement thereof, and wherein winchesare provided to activate the cables.
 3. Greenhouse construction asrecited in claim 2, wherein each glazed panel is in the form of a righttriangle with a short side, a long side, and a hypotenuse, the shortside lying along, joined to, and of the same length as the side of oneof the end panels.
 4. Greenhouse construction as recited in claim 3,wherein the hypotenuse of each glazed panel is removably fastened to thehypotenuse of an immediately adjacent glazed panel to form a ridge line.5. Greenhouse construction as recited in claim 3, wherein the long sideof each glazed panel is hingedly attached to the long side of animmediately adjacent glazed panel to form a valley line.
 6. Greenhouseconstruction as recited in claim 3, wherein a triangular side panel ismounted at the upper edge of both side walls of the base, each such sidepanel being a right triangle having a long side joined to andcoextensive with the upper edge of the side wall on which it is mountedand a hypotenuse that is hingedly attached to an immediately adjacentglazed panel.
 7. Greenhouse construction as recited in claim 6, whereineach triangular side panel has a short side that extends upwardly fromthe junction of the side wall of the base with the rear wall, the shortside being joined to a special end panel extending upwardly from therear wall, which end panel is in the form of one-half of theabove-described isosceles triangular end panels, the special end panelhaving a hypotenuse which lies along and is attached to the short sideof the glazed panel to which the side panel is attached.
 8. Greenhouseconstruction as recited in claim 1, wherein each glazed panel consistsof a rigid open frame having a sheet of light transmitting materialoverlying each side, thus providing spaced parallel sheets for passivesolar heating.
 9. Greenhouse construction as recited in claim 8, whereinthe sheet is formed of a polymer plastic.
 10. Greenhouse construction asrecited in claim 9, wherein the plastic is polytetraethylene. 11.Greenhouse construction as recited in claim 1, wherein the glazed panelsare joined to form a self-supporting structure, and wherein the endpanels are hingedly connected to their base walls and detachablyconnected to the adjacent glazed panels, so that the end panels can bemoved outwardly to permit venting.
 12. Greenhouse construction asrecited in claim 4, wherein the glazed panels are joined to each otherand to the end panels by use of a flexible weather-resistant strap.